No matter how many times India and Pakistan have faced each other in recent times but on each instance the expectations of the fans from either side soar at the prospect of a high-octane edge-of-the-seat thriller. And Saturday’s upcoming blockbuster between the two arch-rivals in the Asia Cup is on expected lines but only at the mercy of the weather gods at the Pallakele International Stadium in Kandy.
If the UK-based Met office’s prediction is taken into consideration, the chances of rain during the much-anticipated encounter in hilly Kandy region are around 70 per cent currently. The rain is expected to come at 2:30 (half an hour before the start of the match) which may delay the toss and eventually the match.
Touted as a precursor to the all-important ICC World Cup in India next month, the Asia Cup holds special significance to five of the six participating teams, looking forward to zero in on their best combinations before the showpiece event.
As far as India is concerned, head coach Rahul Dravid will look to fix the team’s middle order conundrum, and with KL Rahul’s return deferred by at least the first two games, the team management will hope for stumper Ishan Kishan to fill the gap, despite his inexperience in batting in the middle order. While Kishan could boast of his three successive fifties in the West Indies, his average of 22.75 in the middle order means he needs to pull above his weight.
More than the middle order, a lot will be expected from the top three in skipper Rohit Sharma, the dependable Virat Kohli and their heir apparent Shubman Gill to tame the fiery Pakistani attack led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, along with the likes of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.
But with overcast conditions predicted, the odds are clearly stacked against the Men-in-blue, especially Punjab’s Shubman Gill, who will be eager to face off against his old nemesis of U-19 days Afridi. Both Gill and Afridi have crossed paths only once on the cricket field during the semifinals of the 2018 U-19 World Cup, and while Gill came out all guns blazing, Afridi endured a forgettable outing.
Five years later, both have established themselves as dependable faces in their respective roles in their senior international sides, and are set to take on each other on Saturday. While Afridi, the left-arm seamer already has 100 Test wickets to his name, Gill has been instrumental in India’s success during their tour of Australia last year, and has already cemented his place in the Playing XI across all three formats. It will be interesting to see who has the last laugh on Saturday.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have similar middle order batting woes to deal as Usama Mir, Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman have been largely inconsistent, and have often faltered on occasions when Mohammad Rizwan, who bats at No.4, fails. They will also be hoping for the top three consisting captain Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq to come out blazing against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Co.
As far as India’s bowling department is concerned, the return of Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna in the T20Is against Ireland have definitely added a lot of sting but it will be a good test for the duo to handle the rigours of 50-over cricket. And in such a crunch game, Bumrah could be the preferred option alongside the likes of Md Shami and Md Siraj, with Hardik Pandya offering the fourth seamer’s option.
For the spinner’s option, Ravindra Jadeja’s inclusion is certain, but it will be interesting whether the team reposes faith on chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, India’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs this year with 22 wickets in 11 matches, or Axar Patel with just 3 scalps from 6 matches but his inclusion will certainly lend depth to the batting order.